2022 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell Electric

The 2022 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is available in one trim only and that too is available only in the state of California with the current price of $59,000 and $59,250 for the 2022 model if Honda announces the model. You’ll have to pay additionally for any sort of accessory addition you do at the time of agreement. For the price, the current model clarity comes quite equipped in terms of features as there is a 12 speaker sound system with a subwoofer, heated mirrors, 8-inch infotainment with Apple CarPaly & Android Auto smartphone integration, and much more.

We Recommend

As stated before Honda Clarity is made available in two different variants the plug-in hybrid and the Fuel cell. The fuel cell model doesn’t need charging, it is directly powered by the hydrogen cell. It outclasses the plug-in hybrid when it comes to safety, convenience features, and this advanced technology. One can opt for this vehicle but he/she has to keep the drivability limited to California only.

Being a fuel cell-powered vehicle, the biggest advantage is that these cars can be eco-friendly and relatively emission-free. The 2021 Clarity can go up to 68 miles on one kg of hydrogen in the city or 67 miles on the highway as these cars are more efficient in cities because of the additional regenerative braking they get in the cities. Further, the car is rated by the EPA to have a range of 360 miles which is fairly good for a fuel cell-powered vehicle. The 2022 model is expected to have the same fuel figures. 

In terms of efficiency, the Honda Clarity is the most fuel-efficient car here averaging at 68 miles in the combined conditions, while the Toyota Mirai and Hyundai Nexo claim relatively slightly fewer economy numbers. Mirai gets 65 miles per Kg while Nexo claims 61 mpge but the bigger hydrogen tank of Nexo definitely fills up the gap of low efficiency and makes the Nexo the car with the highest range.

The interior of the Clarity is designed in a typical Honda fashion that looks pleasant with a mix of soft materials and lighter colors—and a two-tone look—together feeling upscale and well-coordinated. Though there is not a lot to talk about here, it is a rather simple layout and while the center of the dashboard is dominated by a massive touchscreen for the infotainment system, there are quite a lot of buttons below to fiddle around with. The cabin is quite spacious and 5 people can easily sit here without feeling cramped. The front seats are quite big and comfortable but they are set a bit low for a few. The comfort level is optimum and you can stretch quite a bit as space is pretty decent as well. The will be the same for the 2022 Clarity. 

Rear seats are also surprisingly quite broad and three adults can really be comfortable here without a squeeze. The hydrogen tank is below the rear seats so they are set a bit higher in comparison to the front seats which is a good thing if you ask us. One thing that is not good though is the boot space as due to the presence of a hydrogen fuel tank there, it eats up quite a lot of space and while 11.8 cubic feet is not very small but still, you’ll have to do a bit of space planning before you start your journey.

The 2022 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell is pretty much the most spacious car here in the front row but Hyundai Nexo dominates in the rear row space. Also, the Nexo being an SUV has the biggest boot here as well which is nearly 2.5 times bigger than that of Honda and the Toyota is silently crying in the corner for being the least in all the aspects. All four vehicles have space for five full-grown occupants. Some salient interior features of the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell are:

• Multi-level heated driver seat
• 12-SPeaker & 1 subwoofer
• Leather upholstery & leatherette steering wheel
• Satellite-linked navigation system
• Power-adjustable driver & passenger seats
• 8-inch Touchscreen infotainment system 
• Android Auto & Apple CarPlay smartphone integration

What’s there to keep you entertained?

Holding the center place on the dashboard is a big 8-inch touchscreen that handles the infotainment duties. The system comes equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard and is paired to a 12-speaker audio system with a total output of 450 watts which is pretty decent, to say the least. The Clarity also has two USB ports along with Bluetooth, HD Radio, and Sirius XM Radio.

The touch is super responsive and while there can be a few jitters when the system boots, the experience is majorly fuss-free. Though we feel that the graphics and icons can be a bit better and there is just too much blue color which can also be changed. Some of the key infotainment features are:

• 8-inch infotainment touchscreen
• 12-speaker audio system
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• HD Radio
• Bluetooth
• Satellite Navigation
• Honda-Link and HomeLink

Looks are certainly the most polarising about this car. Whether you are going to like the 2022 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell or not, depends hugely on what you feel initially about the way it looks. While the front of the car is pretty much similar to what we have seen in all the modern-day Hondas with all-LED headlights joined by a thick strip of chrome and large L-shaped DRLs. However, things start to get a bit confusing once you start going towards the back of the car as the design seems a bit too busy.

When you look at it from the side, there are a lot of elements to digest like the aerodynamic design of the alloys, teardrop shape of the roof, and the partial rear wheel design, all of which we are not quite familiar with. At the back though, the big glass slab joining the two taillamps really looks unique and gives the car a much-needed sporty stance. So while there are a lot of split opinions on how the Clarity looks, we feel it is still a very conservative design when compared to the other fuel cell-powered cars and that does make the Clarity looks a lot better than the others.

The Toyota Mirai is the heaviest car with a curb weight of 4,335 pounds, Hyundai Nexo and Honda Clarity are 216 and 201 pounds lighter than the Mirai respectively. Mirai is also the longest and the widest while Clarity is just shorter in outer dimensions by just a couple of inches. Honda Clarity would be much easy to maneuver in the city driving conditions due to the shortest wheelbase of 108.3 inches and a certain lower height also makes its body stable on curvy roads. Some salient exterior features of the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell are:

• Heated mirrors
• Hands-free entry
• Ventilated front discs & rear Solid brakes
• LED Headlamps
• LED DRLs
• 18-inch Alloy wheels

The Clarity has never been tested by either of the crash test agencies and we highly doubt that we will get any crash test reports on the 2022 model either. However, the car comes equipped with pretty much all the driver assistance technology one can think of. The Clarity comes with Adaptive Cruise Control with Low-Speed Follow, Lane Keeping Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Multi-Angle Rearview Camera, Vehicle Stability Assist and many more.

We are pretty much sure that even if Honda decides to send one of them for crash testing, it will certainly ace all the tests. But for now, we will have to make our guess based on the past results of other Honda cars and the ever-long list of safety features that the Clarity has. Some of the key safety features are:

• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Forward Collision Warning
• Traction Control
• Lane Departure Warning
• Brake Assist
• Tire Pressure Monitoring System
• Vehicle Monitoring System

2022 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell vs 2021 Toyota Mirai Premium

The Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell is a relatively newer car than the Honda Clarity and its design is even more polarising when compared to that of the Clarity. We just don’t understand why the manufacturers have to overdo the styling part in order to make it look like a zero-emission vehicle. The Mirai certainly doesn’t look as good as the Clarity to us and even it is less in space. While it is more powerful than the Clarity in the upper trims, there you lose on the range. On the other hand, we genuinely feel that Honda provides a better-balanced package than Toyota Mirai. The last thing is though that you can purchase a Toyota Mirai but the Honda Clarity is just available on lease and that can be a deal-breaker for many.

2022 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell vs 2021 Hyundai Nexo Fuel Cell

The Hyundai Nexo is maybe the most obvious looking fuel cell-powered car here and while it does look futuristic with that design, we still feel that the clarity looks better than the Nexo, maybe because we prefer sedans over SUVs. Second, the Nexo is quite spacious as well just like the Clarity but is also very slow when compared to the Honda and that makes it quite hard to justify the price. While the Nexo has its own share of quirkiness in design and while some might hate it for the way it looks, we think it looks pretty cool and impressive. Just like the Mirai though, the Nexo is also available for a regular purchase while the Clarity is available for only a lease of 36 months.

Honestly, for us when it comes to hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars, it is by default the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell. It is the torchbearer for this hydrogen fuel cell revolution and we genuinely love what Honda is trying to do here with the car. It is quite spacious, looks damn cool with that partial rear-wheel design, and is quite enthusiastic to drive as well. Though we still feel that Hydrogen Fuel cell cars are a better alternative than Electric ones and they have come a long way since they were invented. 

There is certainly a lot more that is needed to invest in the infrastructure required to develop these cars and that is where Honda Clarity loses the battle. Honda also hasn’t confirmed the news about the 2022 models of the Clarity and if somehow Clarity sees the manufacturing plant then it would not be any different from the current model. If you are still considering this product then try to convince yourself of the 2021 model.